


do you believe life is a lucid dream?

by TheLastOfTheRealOnes



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Alternate Universe - Guardian Angels, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Cat Han Jisung | Han, Cat Hwang Hyunjin, Cat Seo Changbin, Demons, Demons Are Assholes, Dog Bang Chan, Dog Kim Seungmin, Fluff, Guardian Angels, Hellhounds, Hurt/Comfort, I promise, OT8, Poisoning, Sort of????, Soulmates, Violence, but not really, chan became a guardian angel too, dont let the tags scare you, its not as bad as it sound, technically major character death but they don't stay dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:07:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26394652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLastOfTheRealOnes/pseuds/TheLastOfTheRealOnes
Summary: guard·i·an an·gel/ˈɡärdēən ˈˌānjəl/nouna spirit that is believed to watch over and protect a person or place.Life is difficult, but not when you have your closest companion by your side. Who cares if it happens to be your pet?
Comments: 37
Kudos: 24





	1. come rescue me, i'll be waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Man, he wished he had gotten a Turtle sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! so, as i stated in "few of us realize life is quite surreal", i was going to edit it and take out w**j*n. unfortunately, some major plot points have to change to make that happen. a main one being... who is chan's guardian angel now???
> 
> an easy thing to do would be to take one of hyunminin and put then as chan's angel, but i love hyunminin as a ship and i dont want to break them apart.
> 
> soooo, i just smushed chan in with felix and changbin, because i like the aussies as a ship, and i like chan/either of the 3RACHA members
> 
> (i'd make 3RACHA one of the soulmate groups, but minsung is my OTP, so i wont change that. besides, minsung is an important ship in this story)
> 
> other than that major change, i think the plot will be relatively the same. basically im just taking out the w**j*n scenes and changing the changlix scenes to include chan.
> 
> and yes, the changlix+chan group will be romantic soulmates bc why the fuck not?

Minho was in his 'dance studio', which was really just the spare bedroom in his apartment, stripped of the furniture and walls covered in mirrors. He was working on a dance routine that would hopefully get him into the school that he had dreamed of going to. It was an excellent school with a great dance program. Dancing was his passion and he wanted to pursue it. 

He just couldn't get this turn right... It was a turn and then a few hand motions, but he kept missing the turn by a beat. He stopped, tugging at his hair in frustration. "Fuck! I'm not going to get anywhere if I keep messing up like this." Dancing was his getaway, but lately it seemed to be his cage. 

He was about to call it quits so that he didn't go insane from how terrible he was doing, right before his cat Squirrel slinked into the room. Squirrel eyed him curiously, before jumping up on his hind legs and waving his paws in the air. It almost looked like he was dancing himself. 

"Whatcha doing, buddy?" Minho grinned as his cat paused and looked at him. Squirrel meowed before doing the jump-dance thing again. Minho turned his music back on and he and his cat began to dance to the beat. 

For the next three run-throughs, he didn't miss a single step. 

~~

It was a month into the school year and while Minho was over-the-moon about getting into his dream school, the coursework was hard and there were times he often felt so inadequate. He slumped to the floor in his dance studio, pulling his knees up to his chest. He sat like that, blinking back tears. 

He felt pressure on his knees and uncurled himself a little, to see his cat. The Arabian Mau pushed its nose against his arms, demanding he move them. He did and Squirrel stretched himself up to lick Minho's cheek, where hot tears were streaming down his face. Squirrel then nuzzled against him and it felt like the cat was saying, 'Don't cry, I'm here for you'. 

"I don't know why I wanted to do this. It's not like I'm cut out for it. It takes actual talent to succeed in this, and I don't have that." His heart sank with every word, what he thought was truth sinking deep into his already fragile mindset. 

Squirrel continued to lick his cheek, and he picked the cat up and hugged it to his chest. He then began to sob into Squirrel's soft fur, taking comfort in the fact that Squirrel didn't seem to mind his almost-constricting hold around it. "Thank you for being here..." Minho whispered. 

He loosened his grip on Squirrel, and the cat once again licked his cheek. Squirrel purred as he began to scratch it's head. "I don't know what I'd do without you." Minho said truthfully, smiling at the cat. 

~~

During a practice session for an upcoming showcase, Minho had tripped and sprained his ankle. Unfortunately, that meant he was unable to participate, and would have to make up a grade for his class in some other way. Currently he was lying on his couch with the TV turned to some random drama, feeling sorry for himself. 

He had already cried so many tears, he couldn't cry anymore; yet he couldn't get rid of the lump in his throat. The ice pack on his leg was warm now, but he didn't feel like hopping on one leg to go and get a frozen one. He watched Squirrel as the cat perched on the back of the couch next to his phone. 

The cat eyed his device with mild interest, before looking Minho in the eye. Squirrel reached one paw out and gently tapped it against the device. Minho sat up beginning to reprimand the cat, "Squirrel! Don't touch that! Don't you dare knock it off th-" Too late. The cat batted the phone off of the back of the couch. 

But to Minho's surprise, it landed on his lap instead of shattering against the floor as he originally thought it would. He picked it up and turned it over. That's when he realized he had a text from his mother. All she said was that she loved him and was proud of him, but that was enough to bring him to tears. That was exactly what he needed to hear at such a time like this. 

He began crying, this time they weren't sad tears. They weren't even happy tears, just tears. Squirrel jumped from the back of the couch onto Minho's lap, and the boy grabbed Squirrel and hugged the cat to his chest. He seriously had no clue where he'd be without his favorite animal.

**~~~~**

Felix's hands shook as he boarded the plane. They shook during the flight. They shook when he got off the plane. They shook on the car ride to his new apartment. Most of all, they shook when his brother brought him a gift, something to help him adjust to moving to a new country.

The cat was a beautiful tortoiseshell, which is probably why he named it Turtle. For the first few months Felix was there, Turtle was his only friend. He talked to Turtle in English, but when he realized he would have to speak Korean, Turtle became his practice buddy. 

Currently he was sitting on his living room floor, books in front of him, Turtle lazily lounging on top of the coffee table beside him. Felix spoke a few words, looking at Turtle as if the cat would tell him if he was correct or not. Turtle eyed him and yawned. 

"You're right... That's not it..." He hummed and stared at the page. "I'm just not sure how to pronounce this. It keeps coming out the wrong way..." 

Turtle jumped up from his laying position, and waltzed across the coffee table to go lay on top of Felix's laptop keyboard. When he settled down, the cat somehow accidentally caused a video to play, Felix having had looked at videos on YouTube to see if he could learn how to pronounce Korean that way. 

Felix rushed over and shooed Turtle off of the laptop, before looking at the screen. The YouTuber was one that he hadn't seen before, a girl with a bright smile and shoulder-length black hair. She didn't look Korean, but when Felix heard her pronunciation, he was thoroughly impressed. He watched more of the video, following along with the practices she did for pronunciation. When Felix found that he could now pronounce the word that she'd been focusing on with ease, he grabbed Turtle and hugged the cat tightly. 

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Man, he wished he had gotten a Turtle sooner. 

~~

Over the next few months, Felix's Korean greatly improved, as did his love of dancing. Well, it had always been there, but after seeing a few buskers with serious skills, that love had gotten spurred into a bit of an obsession. 

Felix had gotten a dog as well, a beautiful Australian Shepherd that he called Kangaroo. Kangaroo and Turtle got along really well for a cat and dog, which delighted him. He had always been a cat person, but Kangaroo had looked so sweet on the shelter's website (he checked it periodically just to see what pets they have). 

Kangaroo and Turtle liked to watch him whenever he danced, and it helped him to get rid of some of his nerves. 

Felix was now looking for a dance studio to join, but he was unsure. He wanted to find a good one, but he was apprehensive about meeting new people. Especially people that probably wouldn't know much English, or might not be able to understand his basic Korean. He still had a lot to learn. 

He set down his list of studios and left the room to go and make dinner for him and his pets. Kangaroo was lounging on the couch, while Turtle padded up to it and poked it with his paw, before sniffing at it daintily. There was a gleam in his eyes as he began to shred the list with his claws, leaving the paper bits scattered over the coffee table. 

Felix walked into the living room holding Kangaroo and Turtle's bowls, only to find that the latter _devil spawn_ had ripped up his list! He set the things down and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Really?! Turtle, come on!" 

He knelt down to pick up the pieces, when he noticed that only one single dance studio's name hadn't been tattered and was still readable. He sighed, realizing that this was the only studio who's information he had now. "Might as well call them and see what they have to offer me..." 

Turns out that the studio was run by a man a few years older than Felix, who was from America. He was Korean-American and definitely spoke English. The Australian was ecstatic that he had found such a good dance studio, though he made sure to thank his cat, since Turtle was the one who shredded up the paper in the first place. 

~~

After such wonderful things happening to him, Felix was not surprised that he completely flopped. His brain was rejecting Korean now, and the language on paper looked like weird squiggles to him. He slammed his head against his table, rubbing his forehead when he pulled it back up. "Ouch..." 

He slammed his head down again, wondering if he could hit the idiocy out of himself. That, or hit smarts back into it. He was about to do it again, but he heard a whine. Kangaroo looked at him with sad eyes, padding over to him and nudging his leg. 

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Felix frowned as he sat up straight. "Why did I have to move here? I should just go back to Australia..." He mumbled, eyes tearing up. He placed his head in his arms and began to cry, feeling small and alone. 

Then he heard a meow and looked up to see Turtle right next to him. Turtle batted at Felix's arm with his paw and meowed again. Felix sniffled as he lifted his head and began to pet the cat with one hand and his dog with the other. "Thanks, Turtle, Kangaroo. I honestly feel like coming here was a bad idea. But my brother was so happy when I said I'd be living here too..." 

Turtle meowed again when Felix stopped petting him. Felix began stroking him again with a watery laugh. "Sorry, just got distracted, I guess." He sighed and stood up. "Maybe watching a movie will cheer me up." 

He grabbed his fluffiest blanket and softest pillow, nestling himself into the couch. Kangaroo jumped up on the couch with him and laid between his legs. He turned on a random k-drama and decided after a split second to leave the subtitles on. Normally he didn't, but today he felt was an okay day to cheat. Turtle snuggled up to him as well, which made it even better.

About halfway through the second episode, Felix decided to turn the subtitles off. It was a bit difficult at first, but as he stroked Turtle, Felix realized that he could make out most of what the characters were saying. He grinned as he looked down at his pets. "You know, you guys are kinda like my good luck charms."

**~~~~**

The first day of school was basically the same as it had been throughout his entire life. Except for the fact that he had actually had someone to talk with (in his earlier grades) during the stretches between periods. He had someone to sit by at lunch. He had someone to walk home with. 

During the first few years of school, Jeongin had friends. That was before social status clicked in, and almost everyone could be friends with each other. But once he got past 5th grade, he started having less and less people to talk to. That's why his mother got him a cat during 7th grade, and a dog during 9th grade. 

Now that he was a senior in High School, he half expected things to bother him a bit less, but of course they didn't. It still hurt when he found himself sitting in the back corner of the room, paying attention to the teacher when no one sat next to him. 

It hurt when he found the most secluded spot to sit during lunch, not knowing how to go up to anyone and ask if he could join them. It still hurt when he walked home alone, no one seeming to turn down his street. 

That's why he was grateful when his dog, Wolf, greeted him enthusiastically. And, as was customary ever since he got his two pets, he located Llama and sat down with them to talk about how his day had gone. "It was okay today..." Jeongin shrugged. 

"Mom says I'm getting braces next week, which ought to be interesting." Then he winced, hugging Wolf a bit tighter to him. "Someone mistook me for a freshman. Again." He had a youthful face, so it was no wonder people always thought he was a lot younger than he actually was. 

Llama meowed from his perch on Jeongin's bed, stretching his limbs out. He stood up and jumped down next to where Jeongin was sitting on the floor. The Maine Coon settled down next to the beagle, and Jeongin pet him with his other hand. "You know, you guys are my closest friends. Which is a little sad, but I'm just glad I have you." He sighed as he looked out the window. 

~~

After getting his braces, It was absolutely no surprise when more and more people began to mistake him for someone younger. But what actually shocked him was when he walked past a group of girls, hearing them say things like, "I can't believe someone our age still wears braces!" and "He must be a nerd!" 

It was a bit ridiculous and childish, but the fact that it actually stung was a bit much. Jeongin skipped his last class of the day and went home early. He knew he'd get an angry call from his mother, but he'd rather be in trouble than stay in the school for any longer. 

When he got home, Wolf was waiting by the door again, almost as if he knew Jeongin would come home early. "Hey Wolf. Where's Llama?" The beagle let out a bark just as said cat strolled into the entryway. "Llama, there you are." 

Jeongin scooped the two pets up and took them into his room. He turned the radio on to a random station and turned the volume down low so that he could have something as a white noise. Then he turned to his two pets and sat down on the floor. 

"Okay, so today was a mundane day. I went through my usual classes, we have a project in my art class, a concert for choir coming up soon, so on." Then he breathed out through his nose, furrowing his brows. "And then some girls made fun of my braces. Er, sort of. They just said some things. I dunno why, but it didn't feel good. I know that they're not worth the pain or time, but it just hurt." He rubbed the palms of his hands against his eyes to try and keep back the tears. 

"I'm just so frustrated at myself! I can't believe I'm acting like such a... a baby!" With that, he couldn't keep the tears from falling. He glared at the carpeted floor in defeat. 

Llama meowed as he climbed into Jeongin's lap. The cat flicked its tail back and forth, meowing louder until Jeongin began to pet it. Wolf pressed his wet nose against Jeongin's other hand, prompting the boy to pet him as well. "Thanks, you guys. Somehow you just know what I need." 

~~

Jeongin came home a few weeks later, covered in bruises. There were large ones, mostly on his arms and legs, plus a few smaller ones on his stomach and back. This was the result of a large game of doge ball. For PE their teacher thought it was a good idea to reintroduce the game. They played way too many rounds, and Jeongin ended up feeling like a punching bag with spaghetti limbs. 

He groaned as he flopped onto his bed, eyes shut. He felt something heavy on his back and whined as the thing meowed. "Llama, get off! You're hurting me!" Indeed, the cat seemed to be placing his paws exactly where Jeongin's worst bruises were. He flipped himself over, Llama scrambling off before he got squished. "Serves you right..." 

Jeongin was tired, and throughout the entire day it had felt like his loneliness was going to overwhelm him at any moment. He stood up, wanting to find Wolf to hug the dog since Llama seemed to be out to get him. He passed by the laundry room, backtracking when he thought he heard a familiar whine. Sure enough, Wolf was curled up in a pile of towels that his mother had just washed. 

As Jeongin stared at the dog, he realized that a bath sounded absolutely wonderful at the current moment. He shooed the dog away and tossed the towels the beagle had been curled up in, into the washer, knowing his mother wouldn't like them being used after the dog laid in them. Then he grabbed a warm towel off of the top of the washer, bringing it into the bathroom. 

He stayed in the bath long enough for his fingers and toes to prune up and long enough for the warmth of the water to seep into his aching muscles. He got out of the tub and after wrapping himself in the still-warm towel, he decided that the universe actually did care about him. He got dressed soon, wanting to get to bed before his mother scolded him for staying up late. 

As he pulled the covers up to his chin, he felt Wolf lay down by his feet, whereas Llama laid down right next to his head. He sighed in content as he drifted off to sleep, knowing that his two best friends were going to keep him company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rock songs really hit differently when they're played on a piano :/
> 
> also, i almost orphaned all my works on accident XD i was so scared when i realized i accidentally clicked the button because i was like, what??? i didn't mean to??? but we're good, there's a cancel button
> 
> so that was my day
> 
> fun fact: i know that 'doge ball' is a typo, but i left it there bc its kinda funny
> 
> anyways, this was inspired by some ridiculous rps i've done, actually. none of them were skz related. in fact, they were bts rps. so i rp on sham.chat a lot, and whenever i see anyone rping as "kim taehyung" (bts) then i immediately change my name to "Yeontan" and rp as v's dog. its so hilarious sometimes. most of the time yeontan ends up insulting jungkook and burying v's car keys. its happened before.


	2. beware, beware

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But just as he reached the upset cat, a single and loud knock on his door redirected his attention. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah so i had time to edit because it's the weekend lol
> 
> so here's another chapter for you guys!

The music for their next routine was upbeat and put Minho in a good mood right on the bat. During the practice, he danced around playfully and was spurred on by the smiles and laughs he got from not only the other students, but the teacher himself. 

When he was invited to lunch with the other students, he readily agreed. He liked this particular group of people, and he hadn't been out to eat with friends in such a long time. They got to the restaurant and were simply talking as they waited for the food. 

"Man, I can't believe how many times we have to spin during the routine! I'm probably gonna get dizzy or something..." One of his classmates, sitting directly across from him remarked. "Teacher Chae is crazy!" 

"Well, he wouldn't give us such hard routines if he didn't think we could handle it." The girl to Minho's left countered. 

He joined in on the conversation. "If you want I can help you one of these days. Give me a call and I can stop by the studio." He offered a bright smile to his classmate, who smiled back. 

"Thanks a ton, Minho! You're honestly the best!" 

**~~~~**

In his own dance studio, Felix was having a great time. He was discussing favorite books with the teacher, the English conversation refreshing and energizing. They had been dancing for hours, and Felix felt tired but satisfied. He left the studio with a grin. 

Since today was a good day, he wanted to celebrate with a good meal. He stopped by a local grocer, only hesitating slightly. He still wasn't as confident going into stores like this, since he still wasn't 100% in his Korean skills. But he was so much better than when he had started, so he felt like he could handle it. 

Sure enough, he did. He easily found the items he needed, and even struck up a conversation with the cashier scanning his items. She asked about where he was from and was delighted to hear he was from Australia. She said that her husband was from Australia, and that when they visited his family she admired the island continent.

After that lovely conversation, Felix felt light on his feet as he made his way home.

**~~~~**

The first few periods of his day were the same as usual, pay attention, write notes, leave. But choir was different. Jeongin actually enjoyed his time in choir, and he felt invested in the class. Their concert was closer and closer every day and there was talk in class about who would get the solo part. 

Jeongin secretly hoped he would, but he wasn't going to get his hopes up too much. When the school bell rang to signal the end of the day, he sadly packed his things up and was about to leave the choir classroom, when his teacher called him back. 

He walked over to her desk, slightly shy. She smiled at him and he felt a bit better. She was smiling brightly and didn't look like she was about to reprimand him. "I was just wondering if you'd feel comfortable doing the solo in our upcoming concert. You have a wonderful voice, and I think people should hear it." 

He stared at her in shock, before nodding his head. "I-I'd love to! It would be an honor! Thank you!" A grin broke out across his face, and she smiled back at him. 

"I'm glad you're excited! I'll email you more details tomorrow." 

His day brightened up further with each step he took home.

**~~~~**

Minho practically danced his way home as he felt his giddy mood from the day's events seep into his bones. It felt like a nice day, and he was hoping to share some of this nice atmosphere with his favorite pet, Squirrel. As he got home, he threw open the door and kicked his shoes off. Once the door was closed, he sped through the house to find the aforementioned cat. 

Squirrel was in his makeshift studio, but that wasn't surprising. What was, was the fact that Squirrel eyed him with a terrified look, a hiss escaping from his mouth. Minho frowned as he slowly walked towards the cat, holding his arms out. "It's okay Squirrel... You're okay. It's just me. You know me, baby." 

But just as he reached the upset cat, a single and loud knock on his door redirected his attention. 

**~~~~**

The day had been a good one, for Felix. He was happy that his trip to the store had gone as planned, too. He walked inside his apartment and set to work on putting away the groceries, except the ones he'd need for the dinner he was planning on making. 

Once he finished putting them away, he went to find his pets, confused as he was unable to immediately see either the tortoiseshell cat or the shepherd. He finally found Turtle underneath the coffee table, which was unusual. The cat seemed to be hiding, Felix realized, noticing how the animal shivered in place. 

He was about to reach his arms under to pull Turtle out, when a voice startled him.

"Lovely home you have here." 

**~~~~**

Jeongin was excited to tell not only his mother, but also his two pets about getting the solo for the concert. His mother always encouraged him to follow his passion for singing, and his pets were always willing to listen to him rant about anything and everything. 

He opened the door to their house and was met with silence. The lights were off, too. This was strange, since his mother's off day was today, and she hadn't said anything about going anywhere. Jeongin shrugged his unease off, reasoning with himself that she must have just forgotten to tell him. 

His hand was on his bedroom doorknob when he paused, heart rate increasing and eyes blown wide. There were footsteps echoing in the hallway that definitley weren't his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow for once they're all having good days and then BAM! something bad happens.
> 
> what'll happen next?!?! who knows?!?! actually i do but you'll have to wait to find out


	3. there's a bright light up ahead and help is on the way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second Jeongin whipped around, a hand was at his throat, pinning him to his bedroom door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy birthday to jisung, and felix lol!
> 
> remember to stream back door (it's awesome)!

**Minho frowned as he slowly walked towards the cat, holding his arms out. "It's okay Squirrel... You're okay. It's just me. You know me, baby."**

**But just as he reached the upset cat, a single and loud knock on his door redirected his attention.**

Minho ignored the distressed hisses coming from Squirrel as he left the room to see who was at the door. He frowned at his cat when he saw the creature trailing after him. "Squirrel! Stop freaking out!" He shook his head and stopped in front of the door. 

He opened it and there in front of him was a person. Except this person had pale skin, bloodshot eyes, and an eerie grin on their face. "H-hello? Can I help you?" 

The person ignored him in favor of turning their strange gaze to his cat, where Squirrel let out another hiss, hackles raised and claws out.

" _Jisung_ , what a small form you have."

**~~~~**

**He finally found Turtle underneath the coffee table, which was unusual. The cat seemed to be hiding, Felix realized, noticing how the animal shivered in place.**

**He was about to reach his arms under to pull Turtle out, when a voice startled him. "Lovely home you have here."**

Felix turned around with his eyes wide, watching the person leaning against his counter as if they were there the entire time. As if they hadn't appeared out of thin air. They had shining yellow eyes, a grin that revealed way too pointy teeth and hands tipped with what seriously looked like claws. 

"What... What are you doing here?" Felix's voice trembled with fear as he looked at them, panicking as the thought ran through his head that today was the day he would die...

"Why, I came to see _Changbin_ and _Chan_ , of course." 

**~~~~**

**This was strange, since his mother's off day was today, and she hadn't said anything about going anywhere. Jeongin shrugged his unease off, reasoning with himself that she must have just forgotten to tell him.**

**His hand was on his bedroom doorknob when he paused, heart rate increasing and eyes blown wide. There were footsteps echoing in the hallway that definitley weren't his own.**

"You know, it was hard to track you down. Your scent was.. ah... covered." 

The second Jeongin whipped around, a hand was at his throat, pinning him to his bedroom door. The person whose hand it was stared at him with a feral grin. They were tall and even the air around them seemed to drop a few degrees with how menacing they looked. 

Jeongin choked for air as he tried to speak. "Y-you! Wh-who are y-you?!" Spots were dancing before his eyes as he tried to take in the much-needed oxygen. 

"Well, I'm an old friend of _Hyunjin_ and _Seungmin's_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all i had to do was add chan's name once in this XD


	4. so frightening, face whitening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He heard the click of the trigger before he heard the resounding boom!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :') hello my lovelies
> 
> i need to focus on school but editing this is much more fun
> 
> hope you enjoy this chapter lmao

**" _Jisung,_ what a small form you have."**

"Jisung? Who the hell is Jisung?" Minho stepped in front of his cat, blocking the animal from the stranger's view. "Now, if all you want to do is gawk at my very lovely cat, then I'm going to have to tell you to leave." 

They smiled at him and he felt cold dread in the pit of his stomach. "That's not all I'm here for." They slammed their hand into his chest, sending him stumbling backwards. The door slammed shut behind them, and Minho felt icy terror flood his veins.

The person grinned at him once again, raising their hand, a dagger materializing in their grasp. Minho was already too shell-shocked to let the strange feat faze him. Instead, he focused on its point, somehow knowing that the person was going to try to lodge that somewhere in his noticeably _not dagger-proof_ body. 

Sure enough, they flew towards him at an inhuman speed, dagger raised. All he could do was sit and watch in silent horror as they brandished the weapon that was probably going to bring his death. 

**~~~~**

**"Why, I came to see _Changbin_ and _Chan,_ of course." **

"B-but I don't know who they are!" Felix was still trembling, tears clouding his vision. He wiped them away as fast as he could, heart skipping a beat when he saw that the figure had moved closer. 

"Oh, but you do!" They looked at Turtle. "You do." With that, they pulled out a pistol from their pocket, aiming it dead center of Felix's forehead. Felix screwed his eyes shut, thinking of all the things that he still hadn't accomplished. 

You'd think that would be the least of his worries, but in a life-or-death situation, sometimes the important things flee your mind as you are reminded of your hopes and dreams being crushed beneath someone else's intense gaze. 

He heard the click of the trigger before he heard the resounding _boom!_

**~~~~**

**"Well, I'm an old friend of _Hyunjin_ and _Seungmin's._ " **

Jeongin's mind was fuzzy, due to being denied oxygen for what was probably not a good amount of time, but he was certain that he'd never heard those names before. Of course, it was at that moment that his sweet, adorable, innocent puppy, Wolf, walked by. 

"Ah, such a wonderful thing, to see old friends!" The grip around Jeongin's throat tightened, and spots danced before his eyes. His limbs were growing weaker and weaker with every passing second as his lungs screamed for him to just _breathe!_

As his vision darkened and his limbs grew numb, Jeongin vaguely remembered the other hand that gripped his arm, slamming it against the door with a force that caused not only the door to splinter, but his own bone to shatter. The pain was intense, but he couldn't feel it in his foggy haze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay another chapter! why am i posting these so quickly??? idk nan molla
> 
> actually i do know. i'm procrastinating on everything else XD
> 
> edit: i forgot to add my favorite part from the other version's notes!! 
> 
> minho: #1 cat dad  
> felix: i'M GONNA DIE  
> jeongin: *passed out*


	5. hold me when the lightning strikes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He's not yours, bitch." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay new chapter!

_**All he could do was sit and watch in silent horror as they brandished the weapon that was probably going to bring his death.** _

Though Minho prepared himself for dying, he didn't prepare himself for someone to block the advance, grab the stranger's wrist, twist it, and flip them over their shoulder. The newcomer was a boy with a face that looked ridiculously like a squirrel's. His hair was a vibrant shade of blue and he glared with such intensity, Minho felt shivers down his spine. 

The boy turned to face the stranger again, crouching in an attack position. The creature lunged at him and he sidestepped it, whipping his foot out to kick them square in the back. They flew against the far wall, slumping to the ground in a heap. The next words he spoke were spat like poison.

"He's not yours, bitch." 

**~~~~**

_**He heard the click of the trigger before he heard the resounding**_ **boom!**

The sound was accompanied by two sets of growls, and when no pain came, Felix opened his eyes, mouth falling open at the sight in front of him. The figure was still standing there, gun poised. But not at Felix, at itself. The one that had redirected the gunshot was a short boy with a fierce glare. There was now a bullet lodge in the figure's stomach, blood gushing from the wound. 

Standing near Felix with his arm thrown in front of the freckled boy, another male stood, eyes blazing as he stared at the terrifying creature. The blood from the wound was pure black like tar, but Felix hardly registered that. He felt like he was going to faint. The short boy kicked the figure, sending them sprawling to the ground as they shrieked in pain. 

"That's what you get for trying to hurt our sunshine." 

**~~~~**

**The pain was intense, but he couldn't feel it in his foggy haze.**

Neither could he feel the pain as his body fell to the ground. He slumped against the wall, watching as the figure that had been choking him was throw against the opposite wall by a boy that hardly looked older than himself. Jeongin's gaze flicked around the hall and he almost cried in relief when he saw his dog was no where to be seen. 

He was so relieved that he didn't register the gentle hands guiding him into a lying position. His head rested on someone's lap, but he was so close to passing out that he couldn't tell the difference anymore. 

The last two things he registered was the sight of that boy snapping the neck of the stranger, and the sound of his first and final sentence. 

"I wish I could have killed you twice for touching our baby."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya! with this chapter, i'm going to deleted "few of us realize life is quite surreal" because i've finally gotten the chapters transferred to my notes! :') 
> 
> hope y'all liked this chapter, and that you have a great day/morning/night!! <3


	6. you would not believe your eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Explanation first, body disposal second." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay new chapter lol

"Uh, one, who the hell are you? Two, what the fuck was that? Three, where the fuck is my cat?" Minho's questions were simple and to the point, as was the boy's answers. 

"Jisung, a hellhound, right in front of you." But the only thing in front of Minho was Jisung. 

"What do you mean? I don't see Squirrel anywhere? He's like, my muse, I can't lose him!" Minho frowned as he looked all around for his cat. 

"I think it's funny that you're focusing on the cat instead of anything else." Jisung remarked, casually leaning against the wall as if he hadn't just killed a 'hellhound', whatever that was. 

"Well, my cat is fucking important to me, so obviously I'd focus on him!" Minho glared at Jisung, wondering why the other boy couldn't understand why he had to find Squirrel. 

"You know, I also kinda think it's cute that you named me Squirrel." Jisung said, a smirk on his face. 

Minho frowned deeper. "What do you mean, 'i named you'?" He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Jisung. 

"I'm your cat, duh." Jisung rolled his eyes as if it was obvious. 

"Oh. Okay." Minho shrugged, knowing that he'd probably wake up from whatever dream this was with a wicked hangover. 

"I know that look on your face!" Jisung glared at him. "You're not drunk, and I'll prove it to you!" In a flash of light, Squirrel stood where Jisung had been. Then in another, Jisung was back in Squirrel's place. 

"That doesn't prove anything. I could still very well be drunk right now." Minho said with a smirk of his own, crossing his arms. 

Jisung threw his hands up in defeat, letting out an annoyed huff. "I don't understand you! Why the fuck can't you just believe me?!" 

"Maybe because you just appeared out of nowhere and killed... that thing... and also turned into my cat. That doesn't really seem like things that are possible within the sober realm." Minho shrugged. 

"Did you just say 'the sober realm'?"

**~~~~**

"No offense and pardon my french, but who the literal flying fuck are you two, and why did you just shoot a person in the stomach? Why were they trying to shoot me? Where are my pets?" Felix's nerves were shot and somehow that translated to him being extremely talkative. 

The boy in front of him stood back with an apologetic grin. "I'm Chan." He said.

The other boy only shrugged, unbothered. "Name's Changbin. I shot the _hellhound_ because it was going to hurt you. It was trying to hurt you... well that's a whole other story that is probably going to take a bit more explaining. And your pets aren't missing." 

"W-wait, they're not? Where are they, then?" Felix looked around for his cat and dog. 

"Uh... Do you promise not to freak out?" Changbin looked at Chan and then at Felix with a nervous glance. "Please?"

"Um, I can try?" 

"Okay." With that, Changbin disappeared in a flash of light, and in his place was Turtle, Felix's gorgeous and dearly missed tortoiseshell. Next to him, in another flash of light, Kangaroo was suddenly standing in Chan's place, tongue lolling out as the dog looked at Felix.

"Oh my god! You're people but you're also animals?! Actually I don't really mind that right now, I'm just so glad to have you back!" Felix rushed over to his pets and pulled Turtle into a tight hug. Turtle meowed but didn't squirm from his grip. A few seconds later, Felix released Turtle and hugged Kangaroo, burying his face in the dog's fur. Felix's heart beat slowed down as the pets calmed his nerves. After a few more seconds he let Kangaroo go. "You can turn back into humans if you want." 

That's what they did, Changbin and Chan now in place of the pets. "You actually... seem less freaked out than we thought you'd be." Chan said, smiling. 

"Oh... Honestly, I've always believed that fantasy and mythical things exist in real life. I guess this just reaffirms that belief." Then Felix glanced over to the hellhound that Changbin had killed. He began to shiver again, remembering how terrifying it had been, feeling like he was looking death in the eye. 

Changbin cleared his throat. "Uh, we owe you a giant explanation, so maybe now would be a good time to start that?" Then he glanced at the body. "Or we can dispose of that first if you'd prefer." 

"Explanation first, body disposal second." 

**~~~~**

"Oh my god, Minnie I don't know if he's breathing!" 

Jeongin was hearing voices... Perhaps he was in heaven?

"Calm down, Jinnie! Deep breaths! Deep breaths! Check for a pulse." 

"You don't think he's dead, do you?!" 

"We'd be able to smell death on him, idiot!" The other person was getting angry, or perhaps a bit scared? But they snapped at the one closest to Jeongin. The other person sighed. "Sorry, Jinnie. I'm just worried. Check for a pulse to see how strong it is."

"It's weak but steady."

Jeongin only vaguely felt fingers pressed against his neck. 

"I can't believe that _fucking_ hellhound did this to him!"

What was a hellhound?

"Do you think- do you think we would have been able to stop this if we were there? Earlier?" The person that voice belonged to sounded close to crying. 

"Jinnie, please don't cry, please." The other one sounded close to tears as well..

"Minnie, I'm not cut out for this! If he dies then I'll never forgive myself!"

Who was the 'he' that they kept talking about?

Jeongin's senses were slowly returning, as was the oxygen to his lungs. God, it felt so good to be able to breath. He felt weak, but not weak enough to stop him from blinking his eyes open. He stared up at what was probably the prettiest boy he'd ever seen in his entire life. "Oh shit." 

The pretty boy snapped his gaze down to Jeongin and let out a yelp. "Oh my god! MINNIE HE'S AWAKE!"

"Don't yell! I can see that, Jinnie!" 

Jeongin turned his head to see another figure, this one also a boy. He was actually just as good looking at the one who had Jeongin's head resting on his lap. Jeongin felt slightly embarrassed at the thought, but he was mostly just confused. 

"W-who are you?" He croaked out, wincing at how rough his voice sounded. The boy holding him stroked his hand against Jeongin's hair. 

"Shh, don't strain your throat. I'm sure it hurts a lot already." The boy looked over to the other. "I'm Hyunjin, that's Seungmin." 

"O-oh. That... that person mentioned those names..." Every word hurt but Jeongin still managed to rasp them out. 

Seungmin knelt next to them and joined Hyunjin in stroking Jeongin's head. "Yeah... There's some things we really need to tell you, but for now, just know that your mom's safe." 

Jeongin nodded, but then he frowned. "What about my pets?" He struggled against both their holds, sitting upright. He fought off the dizziness that spread through his entire body, as well as the pain shooting up his broken arm. His head whipped left and right, neither cat nor dog in sight. "Where are they?!" 

Hyunjin grabbed his shoulders and even though he didn't force Jeongin to lie down, he pulled the boy against his chest. "Shh, it's alright! They're safe too. Don't worry about them." Hyunjin resumed his stroking of Jeongin's hair. "Just go to sleep, I'm sure you're tired. We'll give you an explanation in the morning." 

"It better be one hell of an explanation after what I've been through..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how yall doing? yall holding up?
> 
> i think it will be chapter 8 when the heavy editing finally starts... so we've still got one more chapter where they're all separate!
> 
> also, in the old version, jeongin brakes his arm but it never really gets mentioned again??? and i was like, "how does that work???" yeah.... i forgot he broke it and then never said anything about it XD
> 
> so now we've got broken arm jeongin for the rest of the fic :c (im just tryna be realistic here)
> 
> anyways, hope yall have a lovely morning/day/night, and that you enjoyed this chapter!! <3


	7. tell me it's alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I forgot what it felt like to have opposable thumbs... I might just spend the next hour picking things up." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sup! back with another chapter, lol

"Now you're just pissing me off." Jisung said, from where he was laid on the floor. Minho was on the couch, flipping through TV channels. 

"Well, if you had introduced yourself in a more believable way, I probably wouldn't be so skeptical." Minho said. 

"He was going to fucking kill you!" Jisung glared at Minho. "I wasn't gonna let that fucker touch my soul- whoops." Jisung clapped his hand over his mouth. 

"Your what?" Minho looked at him, suddenly very invested in what Jisung had almost said.

"My... My..." Jisung shrugged. "Okay, you won't believe me anyways. My soulmate. You are my soulmate." 

Minho looked at him for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. "Oh my god! Your- Your soulmate?! The fuck is that supposed to mean?" He wiped away a few stray tears, still chuckling. 

"Ugh, you haven't changed a bit. Universe, remind me why I love this guy?" Jisung said, looking up at the ceiling. Jisung then looked at Minho, who was shaking his head with a smile. "Still not seeing it." 

"Anyways, after that odd confession, or whatever that was, what do you really mean?" Minho glanced at Jisung. 

"I mean it. We're soulmates. Like in the Guardian Angels story? Do you know that one?" Then Jisung paused. "Oh wait never mind, you do know that one. You read it to me at bed time almost ever night." 

"Hm, I suppose I do often read it to my cat. If you actually are my cat, and not some figment of my probably alcohol-influenced mind." Minho shrugged. "What's that got to do with the dead guy in my house?" 

"You're not- You're not drunk! Oh my fucking god!" Jisung groaned. "And because that's a hellhound. You- okay whatever. I'm totally gonna call Chan to fucking beat some sense into you or something." 

"Who's Chan?" Minho looked confused. 

"The only sensible person on the planet, minus the person that makes tuna-flavored cat treats." 

**~~~~**

"Okay, so you know the story of Guardian Angels, correct?" Changbin asked, biting his lip. He looked nervous. 

"I do. How come?" Felix asked. 

"Well, that story kind of applies to us." Changbin said. "I'm sure Chan could explain better, but basically, we're soulmates and you died, and we both got reincarnated and were given a chance to meet again." 

Chan nudged Changbin. "You're doing fine."

"Uh, wait, how did I die?" Felix was taking this in stride, something that the two others felt very thankful for. 

"You uh, well, I don't wanna say in case it triggers any bad memories. And I'm sure there are some." Changbin grimaced. "I know there are for us." He shared a glance with Chan.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Felix frowned. "So, could you guys turn into humans this entire time?" 

"Actually, that's a recent development." Chan said with a laugh.

Changbin looked down at his hands and wiggled them. "I forgot what it felt like to have opposable thumbs... I might just spend the next hour picking things up." 

Felix giggled at the thought. "I'd be fine with that. I think I need a bit of time to recover from what just happened..." 

"Understandable.We'll get rid of the body and you can try and recover." Changbin smiled at Felix, who smiled back, though his had a slightly more tired edge to it. 

"Thank you. A lot." 

"Anything for you, sunshine." The two said in unison.

**~~~~**

When Jeongin woke the next morning, he felt some-what better. His throat was still sore, and his arm hurt like hell (he hadn't had time to properly wrap it or anything), but at least his other limbs felt less like jelly. He was in his bedroom, tucked into his sheets, lying at the foot of hid bed was Llama. 

He gasped when he saw the cat, practically throwing himself at the unsuspecting creature. He wrapped his good arm around Llama and held the poor kitty close, tears falling from his eyes. Llama meowed and Jeongin felt Llama's sandpaper tongue against his cheek. 

"I missed you Llama... Please don't leave me again..." Jeongin whimpered as he remembered what had happened the night before. He could still see the creature's eyes burned into the back of his mind, could still feel its fingers wrapped around his neck. 

"Jeongin?" Seungmin was standing in the doorway.

Jeongin looked up. "Oh, you can come in." 

Seungmin walked in and sat next to Jeongin on his bed. He reached out to give Llama's head a pat, before turning to Jeongin. He gasped when he saw the boy had been crying, and reached out a hand to brush away some of the tears. "I'm sorry you went through that. I knew something was off but I didn't sense it until it was much too late." 

"What... what even happened last night? And where's Hyunjin?" Jeongin was beyond confused. 

"Sorry, um, last night a hellhound attacked you. I... er... killed it. Um, and Hyunjin is actually right here." Seungmin pointed down to Llama, who meowed. "Why don't you show him, Jinnie?" 

Llama jumped off of the bed and in a flash Hyunjin stood where Llama had been mere moments ago. "Sorry we didn't ever tell you. It's just that, we haven't been able to access our human forms until now." Hyunjin rubbed the back of his neck. 

Jeongin looked at him, more confused. "What? I don't... understand." 

"We're your Guardian Angels, Jeongin." Seungmin said, squeezing his hand. "Like from the story." 

"W-wait, you're my, guardian angels? For real? That actually exists?" Jeongin was awestruck. 

"Yeah. I'm actually Wolf." Seungmin said with a slight smile. 

"Thinking about it, you kinda look like Wolf." Jeongin smiled at Seungmin's blush. 

"We should probably find the others and talk to them." Hyunjin said after a moment. "I'm sure Chan will have a few things to say to all of us." 

"Good idea. Also, I really need a painkiller." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys :)
> 
> its been a couple days bc school kinda sucks
> 
> i probably wont be posting quite as often in the coming weeks bc the chapters will be harder to edit, so there is that. bUT, all the members finally meet each other in the next chapter, so that will be fun!


	8. that's just the tip of the iceberg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I want to punch you. Chan, can I punch him?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya! new chapter! this was a little tough to edit but i got it done!
> 
> edit: forgot to add the title >:(

Out of all the events of the past 24 hours, the most shocking one had to be when Felix opened his door to reveal a very grumpy-looking boy dragging another behind him, mumbling about how idiotic this was, and such. 

Chan and Changbin seemed to recognize the first boy though, so Felix let the two in without any further questions. The five of them sat in Felix's living room and Chan turned to the newcomers. "Jisung, did something happen?" 

"This _idiot_ ," He jerked his head at the boy he had brought with him, who was sitting cross-legged on the couch next to Jisung. "-still doesn't believe anything I say." 

"I still feel like I'm definitely drunk. I don't think even I could come up with something this wild." The boy stated. "Name's Minho by the way, since no one thought to ask." 

"I'm Chan." Chan smiled as he spoke. "This is Changbin." He gestured to the dark-haired boy.

Felix smiled as well. "And I'm Felix. And don't worry, I don't really know what's going on either. Suddenly my animals are humans and then that thing tried to kill me." Then he pointed to the corpse in the corner. "You know, we should probably get rid of that." 

After the introductions, Chan continued. "Sorry, Sung. He'll take some convincing, but after the next few near-death experiences, he'll realize that this is real." Chan simply shrugged as though his words weren't very daunting. 

"'Next few'?" Felix gulped, wondering what sort of life was awaiting him after all this shit. 

Changbin suddenly glanced down and pulled out a phone that Felix didn't even realize he had. "Hyunjin just texted me, he doesn't want us to wait for them. Says he'll bring the other two over in the morning."

"Okay. Maybe we can answer their questions first?" Chan said, gesturing to Minho and Felix. 

"I have one." Minho looked pointedly at Jisung. "How can I be sure that this isn't some sort of weird dream? Like a lucid dream or something similar?"

Jisung reached over and pinched Minho's arm harshly. When the boy cursed in pain, he grinned. "Did that feel like a dream? Besides, have you looked in a mirror? If you were in a lucid dream you'd probably look like a demon or something." 

"I can't guarantee that you'll believe me, but I assure you that this is all real. " Chan said it with such a finality, that Minho paused, looking at him with a questioning look. 

"Are you saying... Are you saying I actually almost died?" Minho's frown deepened when Chan nodded. "Holy fuck..."

"Now do you believe me?" Jisung asked. 

Minho turned to him, brows furrowed. "What the hell is wrong with you?! I've had to pick up so much broken glass because you kept knocking cups off of the counter!" Yep, he believed it.

"I was trying to sell the idea that I was a cat! That's a thing cats do!" Jisung threw his hands up. "Excuse me for wanting to be realistic!" 

Minho glared at him. "I trusted you. I told you my deepest, darkest secrets." 

Jisung rolled his eyes. "Your darkest secret is that you once flirted with your friend's boyfriend." 

"I can't help the fact that I'm a sexy queer." 

"And he punched you." 

"To be fair, that was for something else that I said, unrelated to the fact that I flirted with him." 

"I want to punch you. Chan, can I punch him?"

"I mean, that's up to you. He is _your_ soulmate." 

"You're not gonna try and stop him?!" 

"Jisung is kind of unstoppable. It's just a Jisung trait." 

"Not you too!" 

Felix watched them bicker with a grin on his face. Despite the situation, it was fun to watch. 

**~~**

As the sun rose above the horizon, another knock came on Felix's door. He opened it and smiled at the three boys that were staring at him. "Hey, you must be Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Jeongin. Come on in. Only Chan and I are awake, so we'll have to wait for the others to get up as well." 

He shut the door behind them and guided them to the living room, where the other two indeed were. The taller of the three walked over to Chan, who pulled him into a hug. The other two sat on the couch next to Chan. 

"I'm Seungmin, this is Jeongin, that's Hyunjin." One of the three said to Felix. He pointed to the boy beside him, then at the one hugging Chan. "Nice to meet you." 

"You too." Felix smiled brightly at them.

Soon the rest of the boys joined them in the living, all of them somehow squeezing to sit next to each other on Felix's two couches. Chan cleared his throat and they all looked at him. "I know this is probably the weirdest situation, but we need to discuss what happened." 

"Can we talk about what those creatures were and why they were attacking us?" Felix asked. He was fidgeting his fingers. 

Chan smiled, "Of course." He took a deep breath in before continuing. "Those were hellhounds. Hellhounds are kind of like demons but they've got animal features and are a bit deadlier than regular demons." 

At that very time Minho had been taking a drink of water, beginning to cough and sputter after hearing that hellhounds were deadlier than regular demons. Jisung pounded his fist against Minho's back as he glared at Chan. 

"They- they're what?!" Minho looked at Chan with wide eyes. 

"Deadlier." 

"Fuck..." Minho looked at his hands in his lap. 

"It's okay. As long as you all have us then you'll be fine." Chan gave them all a reassuring smile.

Minho spoke up again, this time looking right at Jeongin. "Is this an appropriate time to say that Jeongin and Felix are _extra_ fine?" 

Jisung ground his heel on Minho's toes, causing the boy to shriek and start hitting Jisung with his arms. Jeongin blushed from where he sat, practically sitting on Seungmin's lap. Hyunjin hissed at Minho, yes, hissed. 

"I thought it was funny!" Minho said through his tears as he recovered from Jisung's attack. 

"Anyways!" Chan conintued. "Any other _relevant_ questions?" 

"Uh, yeah. Apparently we died? How did that happen? If we're going by the story." Jeongin asked, frowning. 

"Oh... I'm not sure we should tell you just yet." Chan said with an apologetic smile. "From what we've been told, telling you could trigger the memories and that's not something we want to happen without you being prepared." 

"Alright..." Jeongin fell silent after that, staring at his feet. 

The atmosphere got awkward as they all fell silent, no one really sure what to say. 

Then Felix broke it. "Are we going to be attacked again?" 

"Most likely." Changbin answered, face grim. "The hellhounds won't stop until they can finish what they started. In that case, the best thing to do for now would be to find a way to protect all of you." 

"What would that entail?" Felix questioned.

"We would probably have to monitor you." Changbin said in answer. 

"Ah... Okay." Felix said. He smiled gratefully at Changbin when the shorter boy took his hand and squeezed it to comfort him. 

"Maybe you should all go home and try and take the day off." Chan suggested. "We can brainstorm on our own and come back together with any ideas we have. Tomorrow we'll reconvene and we'll discuss. Keep us posted on anything new that happens. Stay safe." 

With that, everyone but Felix, Chan, and Changbin left his apartment. Felix shut the door and slid down to the floor, letting out a drawn-out sigh. "Oh god, that was the weirdest thing ever." 

"Sorry... I know this is new to you." Chan frowned as he looked at Felix. "I can, uh, turn back into my animal form if you'd prefer that?" 

"No it-it's okay. It's just gonna take me a little while to get used to all this." Felix waved his arms, as if he could gesture to the last 24 hours. 

"It's okay. We don't blame you." Changbin said, offering Felix a reassuring smile.

"Oh. Do you guys want something to? Like, human food? I'm sure pet food can't taste great..." Felix mumbled as he let Chan help him up. He walked into the kitchen.

"It's fine." Changbin leaned against the entrance to the kitchen and watched Felix. 

"Shut up. I'm going to make you something anyways, and you will both eat it and enjoy it. Got that?" Felix's hands were on his hips and he fixed Changbin with a glare, before turning his gaze to Chan. 

"Anything for you." They replied

**~~~~**

"You know, it's dumb that you believe Chan, but not me!" Jisung was still fuming as he watched Minho practice in the house-studio. He was sitting cross-legged with his arms folded across his chest. 

"To be fair, you were the root of the problem." Minho said as he finished the routine he was working on. "Did that look right? I feel like my movements aren't smooth enough. They feel awkward." 

"Maybe go a bit faster? You're off by a half-beat." Jisung suggested. 

Minho ran through the routine again, following Jisung's instructions. "How about now, did that look better? It feels the same to me." 

"It's better." Jisung tapped his foot. "You're a good dancer. I don't know why you second-guess yourself all the time." 

"I'm not that good." Minho countered, sitting on the ground next to Jisung so that he could take a break. He rested his head against the wall behind him and closed his eyes. 

Jisung watched him as he growled, a low sound. "You are good! I've watched you bust your back to get into your school. You're good, you've got the skills, stop selling yourself short." 

Minho cracked an eye open and looked at Jisung. "Why do you keep defending me?" 

"Because I care about you? What else, dummy?" Jisung huffed. 

"Whatever." Minho closed his eye again and sighed. "Not like it matters..." The last part he mumbled, almost low enough that Jisung couldn't hear. 

Jisung glared at Minho, before he disappeared in a flash of light. Squirrel was in his place, padding up to Minho. Squirrel rested his head on Minho's lap, meowing. Minho looked down at him and sighed. "You know, its a bit weirder now that I know you're also a human." 

Nevertheless, he reached down and grabbed his cat. He pulled Squirrel into his lap and stroked the cat's back. "It's really cute when you try and dance with me. Do you actually dance or is that a Squirrel thing and not a Jisung thing?"

Squirrel meowed again, nuzzling his hand when he stopped petting. "Sorry, sorry." He continued to pet the cat, humming softly. 

"Thanks, I guess. But don't expect me to let you sleep in my bed anymore." 

**~~~~**

Jeongin was trying to do his homework as he bobbed his head up and down to whatever song was playing through his headphones. He felt something brush against his leg and looked down to see Llama standing between his legs. "Not now, Llama. Go bother Wolf or something." 

"Mrow." Llama brushed against his leg again. 

"Seriously?! What do you want?" Jeongin pushed away from his desk (careful not to hit his new cast against it) and Llama padded out from underneath. Jumping onto Jeongin's bed, Llama disappeared with a flash, leaving Hyunjin sitting on Jeongin's bed. 

"Pay attention to me." Hyunjin was pouting, and Jeongin had a hard time hiding the blush creeping up on his cheeks. "You're doing dumb school stuff." 

"Well yeah, because I don't want to fail." Jeongin huffed. He pulled his headphones off and paused his music. "Where's Seungmin anyways?"

"Sleeping on the stairs. He found a 'perfect' patch of sunlight." Hyunjin rolled his eyes as he spoke. 

Jeongin snickered and turned back to face his work. "Go bother him. Push him off the stairs or something." 

"He'd probably bite me." Hyunjin whined.

"Then use your foot." 

"Are you discussing ways to push me off the stairs? For real?" Seungmin stood in the doorway, arms crossed with a slight glare on his face. 

"Absolutely." Jeongin said, laughing. 

"Minnie, come pay me attention!" Hyunjin held his arms out to Seungmin, who rolled his eyes with a sigh. 

He walked over to Hyunjin and grabbed his hand, tugging him up from the bed. He then walked over to Jeongin and did the same to him, pulling him away from his work. 

"Hey! What are you doing?" Jeongin was pulled downstairs and into the living room, where Seungmin pushed both of them onto the couch. "Seungmin?" 

Said boy grabbed the remote and threw it at Jeongin, who just barely caught it. Then Seungmin sat next to Jeongin, making sure to be careful with Jeongin's broken arm. "Turn something on. Take a break. Hold Hyunjin's hand or something so that he stops whining about no one paying him attention." 

Needless to say, Jeongin followed Seungmin's instructions. He turned on a random movie and instead of holding Hyunjin's hand, he leaned his head on the boy's shoulder. He also laid his legs out on Seungmin's lap. The boy scoffed but didn't move them, which Jeongin took as a sign that he was pleased. 

Unfortunately, Jeongin broke the comfortable silence with a joke.

"You'd know, I'd have a threesome with you guys, but an easier way to disappoint two people at the same time would be to have dinner with my parents."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay jeongin got proper medical attention! also his cast is white bc that's what my gf chose :/


	9. hold me fast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh trust me, they're planning something. They won't stop until they get what they want, and what they want isn't anything good at all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait!!

It had been a week since the Incident™, and Jeongin had been able to convince his mother that he broke his arm falling down the stairs at school. He'd also been able to get her to allow him to stay at Felix's for a sleepover, which was why he was sitting in Felix's living room, squished between Hyunjin and Seungmin on the couch.  
  
Jisung was sitting on the floor in front of Minho, bandaging his hand that had gotten scratched up by Changbin the night before. Somewhere in the kitchen, Chan was making food for all of them, and Changbin was watching him (judging him). It was a pretty nice morning, despite the situation that they were in.  
  
After they all ate breakfast (pancakes!), Chan had them all sit down in the living room again to discuss a few things. "First of all," he began, "We've got to talk about a few concerns that me and Changbin had." He sighed when Seungmin corrected his grammar.  
  
Changbin took over, rolling his eyes. "First things first, we're worried about what the hellhounds could be planning."  
  
"Are you sure that they're planning something?" Minho asked, concern taking over his features.  
  
"Oh trust me, they're planning something. They won't stop until they get what they want, and what they want isn't anything good at all." Jisung said, clenching his fists, brows furrowing into a glare.  
  
"What _do_ they want?" Jeongin asked, gripping Hyunjin and Seungmin's hands in his own.   
  
"They want all of you. For a reason that we feel is best kept from you right now." Chan said, crossing his arms. "There's things that you forgot that we don't want you to remember."   
  
"Like how we died." Felix stated, nodding. "That I can understand.   
  
Jisung nodded in agreement. "Like how you died. I have a few suggestions as to what they might be planning, but I don't want to alarm any of you." He took in a deep breath. "I think we should all just relax for the moment, and keep an eye out for anything unusual."   
  
"Agreed." Seungmin said.

**~~~~**

Later that night, Felix was sleeping in his bed, with Changbin curled up in cat-form at his feet. Chan was on the floor (in dog-form). Felix was trying to get some sleep, but it just wouldn't come to him. He tossed and turned a few times before sitting upright and pulling his phone out. He decided to flip through social media, hoping that would tire him out.  
  
As he did so, he heard a quiet meow. He looked to see Changbin/Turtle staring at him. "Mrow?"  
  
"I can't sleep." Felix said, sighing. He reached his hand out and scratched Turtle's head. "Everything has been moving so fast lately... It's just so strange." He wiped away tears of frustration from his eyes.  
  
Turtle jumped onto the floor, narrowly avoiding Chan, and looked up at Felix, head tilted in question. Felix let out a breath. "If you want to change forms, then I don't mind."  
  
So that's what he did. In a flash of light Changbin was sitting next to Kangaroo, who he shook awake. Then Changbin reached his arms towards the Aussie and pulled him into a hug, also roping sleepy Chan into it as well.. "I know... I know things are weird and strange and probably not fun at all. But I'm here. I've always been here."  
  
"I know... It's a little weird to think about, but I know. If I can't trust my pets, who can I trust?" Felix let out a low chuckle as he hugged the two back.   
  
Changbin just hummed as he held Felix close, but Chan (who was a little more awake now) said, "You can trust everyone here. We all want each other to be safe, even if Changbin totally scratched Minho on purpose."  
  
"Minho is still pissed about that." Felix said with a grin, giving Changbin a pointed look.  
  
"Well, he shouldn't have bothered me while I was sleeping. I was comfortable in my blanket cocoon." Changbin replied, huffing.  
  
"Heh... cute..."  
  
"Not as cute as you."  
  
"Shut up, Mr. doesn't-sleep-without-his-favorite-stuffed-toy."  
  
"In my defense you got it for my birthday. Or, the anniversary of the day you got me."  
  
"You hissed at me when I tried to wash it."  
  
"Will you two just shut up and go back to bed?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is technically chapter 9 and 10 shoved into the same chapter, because i had to do lots of editing and decided to just rewrite chapter 9


	10. these eyes will not be blinded by the light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"I'll do it."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back with another chapter!

After Minho had finished his class, he'd been walking down the street towards Felix's apartment where they had all agreed to meet up. But suddenly he felt a sharp pain to the back of his head and the last thing he remembered before blacking out was the feeling of his body hitting the sidewalk.

When he came to, he was lying on his back with his feet and hands bound. A gag was in his mouth and a blindfold over his eyes. 

A voice above him growled. "The human is awake. Shall we greet it?" With that, his blindfold was ripped off harshly and his eyes blinked open. 

It took a few seconds to get adjusted to the light but when he could open his eyes without blinding pain, Minho glanced around him as best as he could. All around him were hellhounds, each one with the same grin. Their eyes varied in shades, which was the only difference he could see between any of them. 

A red-eyed hellhound to his right spoke. "Now that we've got you here, we can begin."

**~~~~**

"Where is he?! He said he'd be back by now!" Jisung was hysterical, tugging on his hair strands and pacing around Felix's living room. 

Felix was trying to get him to calm down, but the poor angel was worried about Minho, beyond the point of calming down. Felix trailed after him, still attempting anyways. 

"Changbin is out looking for him, don't worry." Hyunjin said, even though everyone could see that he was octopused around Jeongin and had been for the past hour. Seungmin was next to him, hands fisted with his knuckles white from the strength of his grip.

"How can I not worry?! What if he gets killed?! What if he gets hurt?! That's gonna be my fault!" Jisung looked like he was close to crying. His breaths were getting quicker and it was clear that he was panicking. 

Chan shot up from the couch to where Jisung was. He pulled the younger into his chest and pressed Jisung's head against his heart. "Breath, Jisung, breath..." He whispered, holding him steady. 

Jisung closed his eyes and listened to Chan's steady heartbeat, allowing for it to calm him down. He felt Chan run his finger's through his locks, the gesture comforting as well. "Sorry... I'm just so worried about him..." 

"I know, we all are." Chan wasn't lying when he said that. In such a short amount of time, they had all become family because of their shared circumstances. "We'll get him back. We will." 

**~~~~**

For the past two hours, Minho had been in a pain so bad he wasn't sure how he was still conscious. His limbs ached like someone had ripped every cell apart, one by one. His head felt like it was splitting open. His eyes burned with the light glaring intensely at him, but he couldn't close them. 

The fear had already petrified him ages ago. His heart felt like it had stopped beating. One of the hellhounds was brandishing a knife. "We've already done so much to him, how can he not remember?" 

"Have we repeated the actions like it says?" Another one asked to his left.

"Almost, except for this next one." The one with the knife said, grinning down at Minho. somehow he already knew what was going to happen. The hellhound pressed the cold blade against his exposed abdomen. The moment the blade broke the surface of his skin, he blacked out. 

Or so he thought. 

Memories flashed before his eyes. 

_A blade cutting into his skin, carving symbols. The pain was intense and he couldn't understand why they were doing this. They had already tortured him enough. All he wanted was to see his soulmate again. His heart broke into a million pieces, thinking of his sweet, innocent soulmate._

Another.

_"Kill them... Kill them all and he'll be safe." The voice growled in his ear, sending chills throughout his entire body. He turned his gaze to the image conjured in front of him. A group of people, laughing and talking together. He turned back to the owner of the voice, revealing it to be a hellhound with green eyes._

_"I'll do it."_

One last memory surfaced.

_He was on his knees in a old room made of stone. His hands were chained to the floor. A figure stood in the doorway, swinging a pistol on their finger. "You're so foolish... Did you really think we'd spare him? Someone as smart as you should have known better." They pulled something out of their pocket, tossing it to the floor in front of him. It was a necklace, with an acorn pendant._

_It had belonged to his soulmate. He slumped over further, sobbing out his soulmate's name. A click was heard, then a_ boom _. A flash of light, pain through his skull._

_Then nothing._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not gonna lie, this is not my favorite chapter
> 
> either way, hope you liked it!


	11. can't you see me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Kitchen utensils... Who knew?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahhaha i'm sorry
> 
> trigger warning for mentions of graphic torture (something a hellhound says) 
> 
> just want to warn y'all! ^^^

"Okay, so, I talked with Jisung. We think we know where Minho is." Chan had gathered everyone in Felix's living room, all of them waiting with baited breath. Jisung was sitting on the couch with his face set in a grim frown.

"We think that yes, the hellhounds have him. But we think we know why they have him as well." 

"What do they want him for?" Jeongin asked from his spot on the floor. He was gripping Hyunjin's arm with his good arm. 

"They want him to regain his memories." Jisung stated, not removing his gaze from where it was fixed on his feet. 

"Why? Why him?" Felix asked. 

Chan took a deep breath in. "Because Minho has memories that could potentially aid them in whatever they may be planning." 

"What... what kind of memories?" Jeongin asked, face pale. 

Chan turned to him. He let out a deep sigh. "Memories of how you all died." 

**~~~~**

The rest of the day was spent in silence, save for the hushed discussions of when they'd try and find out where the hellhounds were hiding. It was decided that tomorrow was the day. Chan didn't want the humans coming, but after arguing with Felix for almost an hour, he finally relented. 

They settled down for the night, waiting for sleep to overcome them. They were going to need it if they were going to be ready for tomorrow.

Jeongin was sitting next to Hyunjin and Seungmin on one of the couches. He had his face buried in Hyunjin's shoulder. Seungmin was rubbing his back. He was worried about Minho, but he was also scared at the thought of facing the hellhounds. 

"You don't have to come with us..." Hyunjin whispered. He pressed a kiss to Jeongin's hair after a split second of hesitation. 

Jeongin shook his head as he spoke, voice muffled by Hyunjin's shirt. "No! I'm still going to go with you. I just... It's scary." He took in a shaky breath. 

Seungmin spoke up next. "I know it's scary... but we'll be right here. We'll stay by your side. I promise." 

The youngest nodded against Hyunjin's shoulder. "'Kay..." 

Seungmin breathed out a laugh and pressed up against Jeongin. Seungmin wrapped his arms around Hyunjin, evidently pulling them both into a hug. Jeongin whined about being sandwiched, but he accepted the hug a few seconds later, once again nuzzling against Hyunjin. 

Hyunjin smiled as he hugged them back. 

**~~**

Felix and Changbin were on the other couch. Changbin had his head resting on Felix's lap, with the younger running his hands through the elder's black locks. Changbin -though in human form- was practically purring. Felix had a smile on his face. 

"You really are a cat." He smiled wider when Changbin laughed. "It's true!" 

"I guess. I've been a cat for so long, I've just gotten used to it." Changbin reached his hand up and grasped Felix's own. His smile dropped when he felt how it shook. "Hey, are you okay?" 

"I'm..." Felix paused, unsure of what to say. He let out a sigh and looked down at Changbin. "I'm fine, just a little nervous..." He laughed, the sound a bit too loud.

"Felix?"

"Who am I kidding? I'm terrified. I don't know how I'm going to do this. But I can't just stay behind when everyone else goes to sacrifice themselves. That's not who I am." Felix's words came out in a rush, as if he had unplugged the drain that was his thoughts.

Changbin sat up and looked at Felix with a frown. "Lixie..." He grabbed both of Felix's hands and held them tight. "It's gonna be okay. I won't let you get hurt." He tugged the boy closer and held him tight. 

Felix breathed in his scent and sighed. "Sorry... I'm just worried..." He closed his eyes in content.

"I know you're worried. I'm worried. Everyone is. Especially Jisung. But we're going to get him back and we're going to stay in one piece." Changbin squeezed Felix tighter before he let go. "We will." 

Felix nodded after looking at Changbin for a beat. "Okay..." 

**~~**

Chan was sitting with Jisung, who had locked himself in the spare bedroom. He was sitting on the floor, knees up to his chest, head resting in his arms. 

"Jisung... He'll be okay. He will." Chan knew that Jisung didn't believe him, but he hoped that by saying it he'd help just a little. "You need sleep. If you don't get any, then you won't be ready for tomorrow. Please just go to bed." 

Jisung shook his head, sniffling. "I miss him..." He sounded small and broken. He shook. "Why does history have to repeat itself?" 

"History will not repeat itself." Chan said, voice firm. He held his strong gaze when Jisung looked at him. "I will not let that happen. I don't care what I have to do. We're not going through that pain again. We may just be a bunch of stray kids, but we stick together." He pulled Jisung into his side. 

"That's what you said last time." Jisung said. "We need to get Minho back. Before he regains all his memories." Jisung said, his face was as still as stone. 

"History _cannot_ repeat itself." 

**~~~~**

"These hellhounds are like, ridiculously cliche." 

Everyone looked at Changbin, who shrugged. "What? I'm just saying! Every villain in every movie ever, hides in a creepy warehouse. You'd think they could afford something nicer. Or at least less conspicuous." He shook his head. 

They were standing in front of a tall warehouse building. There were no hellhounds guarding the outside, which (although being a slight miracle) made them more nervous. The hellhounds obviously wanted them to get inside the building. They could only imagine what was inside. 

"Let's just do this." Jisung said with an air of finality that made everyone else steel their nerves and face the building.

Chan pushed open the door and led them inside. They were in a long hallway, lights dimmed low. The atmosphere was silent, almost too silent. They walked down that hallway, until they were suddenly plunged into darkness.   


"What's going on?!" 

"Guys? Are you all okay?!" 

"Ah! Something grabbed my foot!" 

"That was me, idiot!" 

"Well don't grab my foot in the dark!" 

"I don't think we're alo-" 

Jeongin's voice cut off and they all went silent. Felix held his breath, terror clouding his mind and making it hard to think. Something touched his shoulder and he opened his mouth to scream, but a hand clamped over it. He looked up to see two glowing dark green eyes. 

He felt his knees grow weak and everything else faded away as he fainted. 

**~~~~**

Felix woke up in a room with no windows and one door. The door was blocked by the same hellhound that had been in the hallway. It grinned at him and he felt his stomach churn. He wanted to throw up from how scared he was. "W-what are you going to do to me?" His voice shook. Changbin wasn't there to steady him and he felt scared.

"Me? Oh, I'm not going to do anything to you." The hellhound stepped forward, which is when Felix noticed the box it was holding. "I'm just going to give you a bit of a... memory jog." They set the box in front of him and grinned. 

He looked at the box and then at them. "W-what's in it?" 

"Open it. You'll find out." 

There was no way in hell he was opening that box. He thought about possible solutions. His hand briefly patted his pocket, then his other. He was about to check to see if his back pockets had anything in them, when he realized that his left pocket wasn't empty. He placed his hand into it and curled it around the item inside. 

"If you do, you'll know the truth about everything. Isn't that something you want?" The hellhound hadn't taken notice of his search for possible weapons. "There's something you don't know about your friend. Something that could change everything. Maybe even change your opinion about him." 

A few seconds passed, and the hellhound leaned closer. "Don't you want to know?" 

His hand suddenly whipped up, a splattering sound following. The hellhound glanced down at the same time he did. A metal spork was protruding from the hellhound's chest, right where its heart was. It looked up at him and he grinned.

"Kitchen utensils... Who knew?" 

The hellhound fell to the floor, dead. Felix ripped the spork from its chest, grimacing as more black blood gushed from the wound. He was about to walk to the door and leave, but something made him turn around. He thought about what the hellhound had said. What was in the box?

He knew he shouldn't be doing this, but he knelt down next to it and tentatively put his hands on the lid. He took in a deep breath and lifted it. His fingers trembled as he picked up the item inside. His heart began to race as he gazed at it, mind blanking as a memory surfaced. 

He dropped the crimson-stained stone and it rolled away from his feet as he fell to his knees.

**~~**

"Wake up, runt!" 

Jeongin let out a groan as he slowly stood up, wincing as he accidentally put weight on his cast. He looked up at the hellhound in front of him and couldn't stop the whimper that escaped from his mouth. He felt small and vulnerable without Hyunjin and Seungmin beside him. 

"Aw, is the poor baby scared?" It spat at him, wide grin mocking him. The hellhound shoved a box towards him. "If you want out alive to see your precious soulmates again, you need to open the box." It backed up, giving him space to breath. 

He looked at the box in front of him and frowned, feeling himself trembling. What could be in the box? What if it did kill him? Why would the hellhound just let him go? There was no way. It was too good to be true.

"What are you waiting for? Fucking open it, already." The hellhound was growing more and more impatient the longer he hesitated. "Stop being such a coward." 

"N-no... I-I don't want to..." He pushed the box away from himself, shaking harder. 

The hellhound let out a growl and stalked up to him. It leaned down to his level and spoke into his ear. "If you don't open the box, I will find your soulmates. I'll bring them here and I'll make you watch as I rip off every inch of their skin. I'll tear off their limbs and leave them in front of you to bleed to death. You wouldn't want that, would you?" 

Jeongin's eyes widened and tears began spilling from his eyes. His hand shook horribly as he reached for the box. He grabbed the lid and wrapped his fingers around the handle of the item inside. He pulled it out and even though it was shaking unsteadily, he held it up. 

The hellhound was already leaving the room, cold and menacing presence still left behind. Jeongin threw the item in his hands against the far wall, scooting away from it with his hand now clasped over his mouth. He backed up until his back hit the other wall. 

The knife clattered to the ground, where it lay still

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly i was really sad editing this one because i had to completely take out some of chan's sections bc he's a guardian angel now :c 
> 
> actually i was listening to can't you see me while editing this


	12. i imagine death so much it feels more like a memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We want you to kill them all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i swear i had already edited this one, but maybe i just forgot to post it or it got deleted or smth. anyways, here's chapter 12, and the end notes have an explanation for why i haven't updated in forever :')

_It was a bright and sunny day when he died. The birds were singing outside and he was on the phone with his mother. Felix said goodbye to her, though at the time he wasn't aware that would be the last. He pocketed his phone and said goodbye to Changbin._

_He walked out the door, hoping to take a walk and get some fresh air. He had wanted to take one with Chan and Changbin, but Changbin didn't want to go and Chan was at work. He was fine going by himself, however. He enjoyed the alone time as well. (Perhaps if one of his soulmates had been there, this wouldn't have happened.)_

_A breeze tickled his cheek and he enjoyed the cool air despite the hot sun. He was walking past an alleyway when a hand grabbed his arm and tugged him into the alley. It was cliche, but it was still secluded. The person moved their hand from his arm to wrap it around his shoulders and clasp their hand over his mouth._

_He struggled in their grip but couldn't escape. Their voice, which sounded oddly familiar, growled into his ear. "Say goodbye." After that there was a sharp pain to the back of his head, a crunching sound, and he was dropped to the ground. He tried to push himself back up, but his vision was swimming and his brain felt fuzzy._

_Felix's head hurt like a bitch and he briefly wondered if this could possibly be a dream with how woozy he was. He felt something warm run down his neck and reached a shaking hand up to touch it. When he brought it back to his face, it was covered in blood._

_Beside him a rock clattered to the ground, also covered in the crimson liquid. As he his vision darkened, he watched the figure walk away. They turned back around to watch him and as the last of his life seeped away from him, he saw the face of his murderer. He was delirious from blood-loss, but he knew exactly who it was._

_Lee Minho._

**~~~~**

_Jeongin was at home. And not at his parents's home. He had recently moved into an apartment with both Hyunjin and Seungmin. The two of them were out, however. Hyunjin had a dance competition and Seungmin was at their local library, studying for an upcoming test._

_He was sitting on the kitchen counter, reading a book. It was a bit of a strange place to be sitting, but he liked it because the kitchen had the best lighting. He was just about to turn the page, when the lights flickered off. He furrowed his brows as he set the book down, jumping off of the counter._

_He walked down the hallway and into the laundry room, which was where the breakers were. Jeongin paused as he saw that the box was already opened. His heart rate picked up as he shined his flashlight on the box, skipping a beat in terror as he saw that several of the wires in side were slashed through._

_This felt all too much like a cliche horror movie. Jeongin froze and sure enough, a hand wrapped around his throat. Something replaced the hand, cold and sharp. He gulped and felt the knife dig further into his skin. He would have screamed, but every muscle in his body was locked up and his throat wouldn't make a sound._

_The knife was pressed further into his skin, beads of blood collecting from the cut the weapon created. He hissed at the sharp pain. Finally, the knife plunged into his skin fully and he couldn't keep the scream from escaping. The person removed the knife and let Jeongin fall to the ground, clutching at his bleeding neck._

_He looked up at the person but could hardly make out their facial features in the darkness. "Such a shame."_

_But there was one other thing. He recognized that voice. It was one that he had heard many times over._

_It was the voice of his Minho-hyung._

**~~~~**

"B-but I... I would never do that!" Minho screamed at the hellhounds surrounding him. "I care about them too much!" 

"Oh really?" A blue eyed hellhound stepped forward, holding a syringe full of a light green liquid. "Recognize this?" 

Minho's face paled. He did, in fact, remember it. That was a vial of Hellhound Venom. If you got enough of it in your system, you'd be susceptible to the hellhound's requests. It was a sort of hypnotism method. He recalled them using it on him the first time. 

"You were already in hysterics, thinking we'd harm your _precious_ little soulmate. And yet, you still refused to do our bidding. So we used our venom on you and you became quite the useful toy." A red eyed hellhound stated, face close to his. 

He resisted the urge to spit at it. "I won't do it again! I won't!" He struggled against his restraints, fists clenched. 

"Oh? We'll see about that." The blue eyed hellhound walked closer, grabbing his arm in a vice-like grip. "Let's see how you talk once we've got this in you." It placed the syringe against his skin and he felt a pinch as it inserted it into his arm. Cold flooded his veins as the liquid was inserted into his blood.

It took a few minutes for it to kick in, but as it did, Minho felt his brain get fuzzy and his thoughts began to cloud. But he kept thinking about one thing, it was his last thought before the venom settled in. There was no way in hell he was going to listen to the hellhounds. 

"Are you going to be cooperative now?"

The venom worked a little, almost making him nod his head. His mind was in a turmoil. 

The hellhounds asked him to cooperate, but why was he thinking about not listening to them? Was there something wrong with what they were saying? They didn't sound bad to him... But he kept thinking about not listening, so there must be a reason why. 

He frowned and shook his head. If he kept thinking about it, then he must have a good reason. Minho (in his drugged-up state) wasn't sure why, but he trusted himself enough to follow that instinct. 

"What?! The venom should have worked on him! Why isn't it working?!" A hellhound to his left growled, looking at the blue eyed hellhound. 

"I don't know! I've given him the right dosage. Would more help?"

Another hellhound smacked the last one. "If you give him any more, he'll die! We need him alive for this!" 

As they argued, Minho was deep in thought. If he didn't want to listen to them, he'd have to get out of this place. But he was strapped down. So maybe if he _pretended_ to listen to them, he'd be able to get out. He shook as he spoke, but he kept his voice steady. "I'll do what you ask." 

The hellhounds all turned to him with sadistic grins. They looked at each other and then at him again. 

A violet eyed hellhound stepped up and undid his restrains. "Alright. We want you to find the people that are here, the ones that aren't hellhounds."

"We want you to kill them all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya! 
> 
> so... i haven't updated in a while mainly because: 1, school is sucky rn and 2, my motivation levels have gone way down. not just my motivation for writing, but pretty much everything else lmao. so i've been trying really hard to get myself motivated to actually do stuff, but its been a struggle. posting here is actually way easier than some of the other things i'm procrastinating on (like my other on-going series), because i already have some of these chapters written, so there's probably gonna be more updates here than anywhere else. at least until i use up all my pre-written chapters :'). lol, sorry this is so long
> 
> TL;DR: school = crappy, motivation levels = rock bottom, this story = will probably be updated more, hotel = trivago
> 
> (sorry, not sorry)


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